Connect With Kids: Learn to Woodwork Together

Wood Wizards

Woodworking gives dads and kids the chance to step away from devices and create something with their own hands. Whether it’s sanding a piece of wood, measuring angles or building a birdhouse, woodworking encourages patience, teamwork and problem-solving — while creating space for you and your kid to grow.

Hammering Out the Importance of Woodworking

Woodworking teaches self-reliance and decision making by focusing your brainpower and body in an engaging way.

Wood Wizards in Atlanta offers experiences for kids ages 5 and older to learn about woodworking.

Scott Meach and his son, Jasper, began sessions last July. “It’s become a tremendous weekly tradition. Jasper had gotten a taste of woodworking in other camps, and I have a workshop and a lot of tools but not much know-how. I have learned a lot.”

The projects often come with challenges and opportunities to think differently.

“Sometimes, you have to solve the problem in a different way: you need a different piece of wood, the wood needs sanding, or you need to change an angle,” Meach says.

For Jasper, those lessons have been particularly meaningful.

“My son is – what we call – neuro-spicy,” Meach says. “Seeing things differently comes pretty naturally for Jasper. The hard part is thinking ahead, or what happens if that idea doesn’t work? It’s been useful to him to see the different ways to handle it.”

At Wood Wizards, instructor-led workshops and child-sized tools help kids safely learn how to use and master woodworking equipment. But for many parents, woodworking is unfamiliar territory, too.

“We’re teaching our kids they can do it,” says Chad Livsey, who is a teacher, director of community engagement at Wood Wizards and the father of two daughters, Lake and Crew. “For a dad that doesn’t know, you can start learning and show that you are evolving. Showing your kid you can do anything is important.”

Woodworking blends practical and interpersonal skills, as students will learn math and measurement skills along with communication and problem-solving abilities.

Jasper and Scott Meach at Trees Atlanta with the Wood Wizards team

As students’ skills grow, so does their pride. That pride became very real when Jasper won Trees Atlanta’s annual Georgia Arbor Day Student Art Contest.

“Jasper built a treehouse and submitted it. He’d never won anything, and this was a really big deal to him. He accepted the award, and he was super happy and proud of himself,” Meach says.

No matter a child’s age – or a parent’s – showing a willingness to learn something new is a valuable message.

“We have to act like experts in every field that we’re in. That settles older people in their ways, and they don’t try anything new,” Livsey says. “It’s good to show people that you can always learn.”

Building Blocks for Relationships

Beyond the practical skills, woodworking creates something even more valuable — worthwhile memories with your kid.

“Any time you can do something for a couple of hours and you have a goal, you can use it as a bonding moment,” Livsey says. “I’m showing Lake and Crew how to use their hands and how to use the tools. Woodworking brings people there, but it’s about the family and the community we are creating.”

Woodworking also creates a multigenerational connection. Jasper’s grandfather and cousin have also attended the classes. “You’re seeing the world through their eyes, and watching them become the best version of themselves,” Meach says. “Find the thing that you can connect with your kid on, even if it’s not your thing.”

Try a Class

Wood Wizards offers After School Clubs and Weekend Clubs for woodworking fun for ages 5 and older.

Rockler leads Make & Take Classes for ages 14 and older.

Decatur Makers hosts monthly Family Build Night for ages 6 and older.

Woodcraft has beginner classes and camps for ages 10 and older, including Father’s Day
Sessions for a parent-child pair.

At-Home Experiments

“Little Woodchucks” by Nick Offerman and Lee Buchanan is an illustrated woodworking guide with projects for the whole family. Get hands-on with projects of varying difficulties as you build your skills, from a box kite to a little free library. $35.

SparkJump offers woodworking kits for building birdhouses, bug hotels, candy dispensers and more, along with functional tools built for smaller hands. Each kit contains simple instructions, quality materials and hands-on fun. $34.99-$65.99.

Lakeshore Learning’s Young Woodworker’s Project Kit includes precut wood and instructions for building a corner shelf, treasure chest and toolbox. $59.99.